Brussels in English

Three municipalities in the Flemish periphery of Brussels - Tervuren, Zaventem and Hoeilaart - have launched a new programme to help newcomers get settled in their new communities. Lisa Bradshaw, editor-in-chief of Flanders Today, explains all.

It's the 60th anniversary of the Atomium and it's being celebrated with a plethora of activities that last throughout the year.  We hear from Jacqueline Moens de Fernig and Margaret Jacquet-Overzier about their memories of the summer of 1958 and from Bauduoin Deville, Laurent Fack, John Christian Kavakure, Patrick Ouchène, Rika Devos, Noémie Warion and Yvonne Boodts on what they are organising for...

Thursday is the two year anniversary of the Brussels terrorist attacks. 32 people lost their lives, and Charlotte Sutcliffe suffers from one of those losses. Her partner David died on the metro. She recently started an organisation called Survivors Against Terror to change the narrative when tragedy strikes.

It's the 10th anniversary of Délice the international gastronomic network of 17 cities, and since Brussels is currently presiding, delegations from all the cities met in Brussels to celebrate the milestone and to unveil the new strategic plan. We hear from Olivier Marette, representaive of the City of Brussels and current network president, Miguel Mendez, representative of the city of Puebla, Mexi...

What is poké? It is an ancestral Hawaiian food. If you like sushi you'll love poke. And now you can enjoy it in Brussels. Shu, 24 years old Brussels native has opened Poki Poké, a restaurant, on the Chaussée d’Ixelles almost at the Place Flagey. He tells us what makes it so good. https://www.pokipoke.net/

This year's Brussels Art Nouveau Art Deco Festival (BANAD) has added a number of new houses to be visited. One of them is the Hôtel Frison, the only Victor Horta house in the Sablon. The new owner Nupur Tron Chowdhry is busy restoring the house and she tells us about the connections between the house and the culture of India and her plans for cross cultural exchange.  BANAD: Three weekends in Marc...

Brussels is offering people in the city a unique and free experience this month, a short up-close-and-personal live classical music performance in a transparent box just big enough to fit a grand piano and three people. Barely 15m2 and constructed entirely out of glass, the smallest concert hall in the world is the brainchild of the annual classical music Klarafestival, taking place in Brussels an...

Our series on Brussels photographers continues with Stanislav Dobak from Slovakia. He has some advice for budding photographers in the city. https://www.stanislavdobak.com

Roma people have been migrating all over Europe to find better opportunities. Joakim Bengtsson, a Swedish expat in Brussels, has witnessed many Roma people on the streets unable to rise up above poverty, but he is working to change that. Molly Dove reports. https://www.facebook.com/groups/649105098623385/

Soviet Design: Red Wealth is an exhibition about design in the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1980 at the Art and Design Atomium Museum (ADAM). The 600 object show is brought to Brussels by the Moscow Design Museum and is the result of a labour of love on the part of dedicated enthusiasts and professionals who literally saved historically priceless documents and beautiful objects from the dustbin. MDM...

As Bozar's three-day Afropolitan festival draws to a close, should Belgium do more to mark Black History Month? Activist Omar Ba and Ayoko Mensah, from Bozar's Africa department, believe so.

Peter Lord, cofounder and creative director of Aardman is in Brussels for the Anima Film festival where he is presenting their latest film Early Man. Aardman has become synonymous with the best in stop motion with films such as Chicken Run, and the Wallace and Gromit series. He spoke with us about what influenced him growing up, whether stop motion can coexist with CGI and all about the intricacie...

The fifth edition of the Salon du Chocolat is back in Brussels to celebrate chocolate in all its forms at Tour & Taxis from 2-4 March. The chocolate-filled weekend has everything from chocolate pairings with beer, to different workshops to learn more about the sweet treat. Event spokeswoman Patricia Raes explains more.

On Friday lunchtime (16 February), Manneken Pis will be dressed in Lithuanian costume as Belgium's 3,000 Lithuanians celebrate 100 years of their country's independence. Then in the evening, there's a laser show in Cinquantenaire park. We hear from the organisers.

The Belgian Air Force partnered with schools across Belgium for a special day of first world war commemorations on 1 February. A helicopter visited 11 schools - one in each Belgian province and the Brussels region - and two students from each school were on board for one flight segment. Additionally two students from each school spent the day at the military air traffic control centre in Ghent to...

When Julian Hills was 20 years old, he began experimenting with photography. The self-taught photographer began capturing emotional moments at concerts, and soon began working with different charity organisations. His new book, “Ordinary People” highlights people with disabilities, or just ordinary people that deserve recognition in a world where only the perfect get on the front of magazines.

The Honda Competition for Classical Music - now in its second year - is an unusual musical competition. Most such competitions are between players of one instrument, a piano competition or a violin competition for instance. In this case all instruments are competing with each other. This year there are three finalists, two sopranos and an oboe. Emma Posman, one of the soprano finalists talks with...

2018 will be a banner year for fans, both locals and tourists, of the work of master architect Victor Horta. Twenty Brussels cultural institutions have joined to present a complete program of one of the greatest architects of his generation.  Visitors will be able to see several exhibitions as well as participate in several guided tours including going inside Horta’s houses and lots of other activ...

Photographer Ximena Echague has been documenting the day-to-day lives of refugees in Brussels since 2005 for her project called ‘Odyssey.’ Most of the exhibition focuses on one subject, Sharali, who escaped from Somalia after constant civil war. The photographs tell the story of how he lives everyday life as a refugee without documentation.

Lights for Rights is back, with a one-year anniversary of a protest on Place de la Bourse in Brussels. “Trump’s presidency has brought with it a stunning abuse of power, myriad conflicts of interest and a dangerous level of cultural upheaval,” says Pauline Manos, the chair of Democrats Abroad. “The last year was a test of who we are as a country. Our institutions and resolve have proven their stre...

ADAM, the Brussels Design Museum has opened a new permanent space called the Plasticotek. Now entering its third year the museum has realized that it needs a hands-on space where plastics can be explained to the visitor. What are plastics? How are they made? What is their history? What do they feel like? Museum Director Arnaud Bozzini and Richard Thommeret Professor in Plastic Technology, Industri...

The first production of the Brussels Shakespeare Society for 2018 is one of the bard’s most popular and, probably, most comedic plays, A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Emily Bowles, in her debut as director for Brussels Shakespeare Society, explains what's in store.  A Midsummer Night's Dream, 22-27 January 2018, Theatre Mercelis, Ixelles

Ringing in the New Year is the English Comedy Club’s pantomime, Snow White. There is no doubt that the political events of 2017 will provide director Conrad Toft with a vast array of material to ensure that the theatre will be bursting with jolly laughter, disapproving hissing and playful booing, as the evil Queen of Snowmania, in the grip of an eternal winter, tries to stop Snow White from meetin...

Non-Belgian EU citizens have had the right to vote in - and stand for - local elections in Belgium since 2000. Non-EU foreigners have been able to do the same since 2004, as long as they have been a resident for at least five years. But a very small percentage have taken advantage of this right. Tom Huddleston, from Migration Policy Group, explains why your vote count - and how to register.

A wonderful end-of-year treat, the 13th edition of the Be Film Festival is here with the best Belgian movies of 2017. The week before Christmas is an opportunity to catch up on those films you missed - with 28 films scheduled in total. Céline Masset, co-creator and organiser of the festival tells us what's in store this year. www.befilmfestival.be